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Point-contact transistor invention

Point-contact transistor invention

John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley are on the verge of a breakthrough as they experiment with early semiconductor materials, attempting to create a device that can amplify electrical

Setting

A well-equipped research laboratory at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey. The room is filled with test equipment, workbenches, and chalkboards covered in equations. The walls are lined with shelves holding various electronic components and reference materials.

Characters

The figures in this scene as an entity network — co-presence links everyone in the moment; speakers who trade lines are bound tighter. Turn the resolution dial to reveal depth the engine actually computed.

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John Bardeen
primary
A middle-aged man of average height with a slender build, wearing round wire-framed glasses. His dark hair is neatly combed, and his face shows signs of deep concentration with faint wrinkles around his eyes.
Walter Brattain
primary
A middle-aged man of average height with a lean build, wearing round wire-framed glasses that reflect the lab lights. His short, dark hair is slightly tousled from hours of work, and his hands show the calluses of frequent experimentation.
William Shockley
secondary
A tall, lean man in his late 30s with sharp features, piercing eyes, and neatly combed dark hair. His posture exudes authority, and his gaze is intense, often scrutinizing the work of others.
Lab Assistant
background
A young man in his early 20s, of average height with a slim build. His dark hair is neatly combed, and he wears round wire-framed glasses that occasionally slip down his nose. His hands are slightly ink-stained from taking notes.

Dialog

John Bardeen The current amplification is holding steady at 100 cycles. The germanium surface appears stable under this configuration.
Walter Brattain Empirically speaking, that's a 30% improvement over yesterday's trials. Let's measure the voltage drop across the contacts again.
William Shockley You're still using the point-contact method? That's not the optimal approach. The junction theory clearly suggests—
John Bardeen The data speaks for itself, Bill. We're observing signal amplification where your theory predicted none.
Walter Brattain Reading 0.3 volts now... and the waveform is clean. That's solid-state amplification if I've ever seen it.
William Shockley Have you considered the thermal implications? Germanium's properties change dramatically with even slight temperature variations.
John Bardeen We accounted for that in the last series. Walter, let's document these readings before we proceed further.

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Causal neighbors · 335 linked moments

C
Completion of TRADIC, the First Transistor Computer
1954 · same location
P
Publication of Claude Shannon's 'A Mathematical Theory of Communication'
1948 · same location
I
Invention of the Point-Contact Transistor
1947 · same location
I
Invention of the Junction Transistor
1948 · same location
I
Invention of the Transistor
1947 · same location
P
Publication of the Point-Contact Transistor Paper
1948 · same location
D
Dawon Kahng and Martin Atalla present the MOSFET
1960 · same location
I
Invention of the Transistor
1947 · same location
Invention of the Transistor
Invention of the Transistor
1947 · same location
M
Manchester Mark 1 First Run
1949 · same figure
F
First Website Goes Live at CERN
1991 · same figure
Manchester Mark 1 Becomes Operational
Manchester Mark 1 Becomes Operational
1949 · same figure
Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence
Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence
1956 · same era
F
First Silicon Transistor Demonstration
1954 · same era
C
Completion of TRADIC, the First Transistor Computer
1954 · same era
P
Proposal for the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence
1955 · same era
I
Invention of the Perceptron
1957 · same era
D
Demonstration of the perceptron by Frank Rosenblatt
1957 · same era
D
Dartmouth Conference on Artificial Intelligence
1956 · same era
P
Publication of Claude Shannon's 'A Mathematical Theory of Communication'
1948 · same era
D
Demonstration of the Logic Theorist Program
1956 · same era
E
ENIAC Unveiled
1946 · same era
H
Harvard Mark I Operational
1944 · same era
E
ENIAC First Program Run
1945 · same era
D
Dartmouth Conference on Artificial Intelligence begins
1956 · same era
D
Delivery of the first UNIVAC I to the United States Census Bureau
1951 · same era
I
Invention of the Point-Contact Transistor
1947 · same era
D
Dedication of the ENIAC
1946 · same era
I
Invention of the Junction Transistor
1948 · same era
Shannon Publishes "A Mathematical Theory of Communication"
Shannon Publishes "A Mathematical Theory of Communication"
1948 · same era
U
United Nations Charter Signing
1945 · same era
T
Trinity Nuclear Test
1945 · same era
D
Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence
1956 · same era
D
Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence
1956 · same era
D
Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence
1956 · same era
E
ENIAC Unveiling
1946 · same era